UHCL Students Turn Classroom Learning Into Real-World Impact

Inside the Spaceflight Human Performance and Optimization (SHOP) summit, scientists, researchers, and industry leaders explore how the human body adapts in extreme environments and how those insights apply beyond spaceflight.

Moving between sessions, supporting speakers, and engaging in discussions, students from the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) are immersed in an environment that extends beyond the classroom. It places them inside a field many are only beginning to understand, offering a clearer view of how their studies connect to the work happening around them.

At UHCL, experiences like SHOP are part of a broader, intentional approach to experiential learning, where students engage directly in research, industry, and applied environments early in their academic journey.

For Valeria Salinas, a graduate student in exercise and health sciences with a concentration in clinical exercise physiology, the experience has been eye-opening.

"This is my first time at SHOP and my first time really interacting with people in this field," Salinas said. "It's been a great opportunity to step out, meet people, and start building connections."

As she listened to panel discussions and spoke with professionals from across the industry, those connections began to take shape.

"You hear from people about what they do and how they got there," she said. "It helps you start to see where you could fit."

That sense of connection is what makes experiences like this different from the classroom. Concepts that once felt separate start to connect in a more tangible way.

"It's nice to put the big picture together," Salinas said.

For Cameron Lynch, an undergraduate student majoring in kinesiology and biology, the experience has been just as impactful, but in a different way.

"I've been trying to get involved in research for a while, and once I got into human performance, it was the coolest thing ever," Lynch said.

The conversations and research presented throughout the conference expanded his thinking.

"After every session, we're thinking, 'We could study this. We could test this,'" he said. "It really opens your eyes to how many possibilities are out there."

That exposure has also reshaped how he thinks about his future.

"I thought I knew what I wanted to do, and then I started working in this space and realized I hadn't even considered a lot of these things before," Lynch said. "Over time, it's helped guide what I want my path to look like and what I want to contribute to."

For Isabel "Bel" Lopez, an undergraduate kinesiology student with a focus in exercise science, the experience has reinforced her direction.

"I'm really focused on research, so being here and seeing how different studies are run has been really valuable," Lopez said.

Seeing the range of work across disciplines stood out immediately.

"Everybody here is studying space, but in completely different ways," she said. "That really stood out to me."

That perspective has helped solidify her path forward.

"It's pushed me more toward research and wanting to grow in that area," Lopez said. "It's given me reassurance that this is the right path. I may not know exactly what area yet, but I know I'm heading in the right direction."

For Claudia Box, a graduate student pursuing a joint healthcare administration and business administration degree, the impact comes from seeing how everything connects.

"You start to see how everything connects," Box said. "What you learn academically and what happens in the real world aren't separate. They come together in ways you don't always realize until you experience it."

That connection, she said, only happens when students actively engage.

"It creates a bridge that you don't get if you don't take the time to make opportunities for yourself," Box said. "You have to go out, introduce yourself, and engage. That's how you start to see all the connections that are possible."

From her role coordinating volunteers, Keamia Rasa has seen that impact play out across the entire group. A graduate assistant with the Health and Human Performance Institute (HHPI) and a student in the Commercialization of Space MBA program, Rasa began as a volunteer herself before stepping into a leadership role.

"Students are really taking advantage of it," Rasa said. "They're sitting in on sessions, talking to panelists, and engaging in the conversations. That's a big part of the experience."

She has also seen students grow more confident over time.

"We've seen students step up in a big way," Rasa said. "They're taking on leadership roles, helping run the event, and already excited to come back and do it again."

For many students, one of the most important takeaways is access.

"It can feel intimidating at first, but everyone here is approachable," Rasa said. "You can talk to people whose work you've read or studied and realize they're open to those conversations."

That shift can change how students see both the field and themselves within it.

"Titles aside, we're all people," she said. "And that makes a big difference for students."

By the end of the conference, students had a clearer sense of how their studies and interests connected to the work happening around them and where those paths might eventually lead.